


Stargazing

by Hexiva



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Canon Character of Color, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Constipation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Repression, Stargazing, Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexiva/pseuds/Hexiva
Summary: On a stakeout late at night, Bond runs into Leiter. Together, they watch the stars.
Relationships: James Bond/Felix Leiter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Stargazing

**Author's Note:**

> Another randomly generated prompt, "James/Felix, star." Written for MI6 Cafe's Rarepair February.

It was the dead of winter, and it would be hours before the sun rose to give Bond a good shot at his target. But the guards on the vast SPECTRE compound changed at 10 PM every night, and that was the only time an enterprising agent could slip past them and set up a post in a conveniently-located hill.

Bond was beginning to set up his sniper rifle when he heard the  _ crack  _ of a broken twig in the bushes, and he whirled around, suddenly on alert. His instinct was to go for his Walter PPK, but he reached instead for his combat knife. He couldn’t afford to alert the target or his guards with a gunshot, even a silenced one. 

He crept up on the figure in the bushes, his knife drawn - but the other man spun around just as he raised his knife, and grabbed Bond’s hands, holding the knife away from himself. Bond pulled back, and then tackled him, pinning the larger man to the ground. The other man grunted in pain, and - 

“Felix?!” Bond said, recognizing the voice.

“J - James?!” Leiter lifted his head off the ground and peered closer at his assailant in the dim starlight. “Hell, James, are you trying to kill me? What happened to the Special Relationship?”

Bond chuckled, and rolled off of Leiter, sitting up. “Thought you were a SPECTRE scout of some kind, creeping around in the bushes like that.”

“Stones and glass houses, friend. You’re out here too.” Leiter sat up. “So I suppose you’re here to end Dr. Blackthorn’s career too? Hope you didn’t need him alive . . . the CIA has other plans.”

Bond shook his head. “No. He’s a dead man.” He jerked his head in the direction of the sniper rifle.

“Then I guess we’re working together on this one,” Leiter said. 

A corner of Bond’s mouth lifted. “Guess so. No point in taking a shot before dawn, though.”

“Waiting’s always easier with a friend,” Leiter said, with a smile.

“I can’t argue with that logic,” Bond said, smiling slightly. 

Together, they set up their sniper gear, and Felix produced a wool blanket to sit on, which Bond hadn’t considered. Bond, on the other hand, had thought to bring a thermos of hot soup to keep himself warm.

“Trade you a swig of that soup for a spot on the blanket,” Leiter said, sitting down. 

“You’re on,” Bond said, handing him the thermos and sitting down next to Leiter. The blanket wasn’t quite large enough for two, so they wound up sitting pressed side-by-side, practically in each other’s laps, with a boulder to their backs. But it was, after all, cold out, and Bond didn’t mind the company.

Leiter took a gulp. “Not bad. What’s in it, blood pudding?”

“No, just haggis,” Bond said, cheerfully. He leaned back against the boulder, and looked up at the stars. There was a companionable silence, and it occurred to Bond that he was quite lucky to have met Leiter today. Leiter was right: waiting was always easier with a friend. 

“I grew up in Austin, you know,” Leiter said, softly. “I know you Brits think we’re all a bunch of cowboys down in Texas, but my dad was rich. Oil money. Austin’s a big city . . . not as big as London, but big enough to light up the night sky. Never saw stars like this until I joined the military. Hell of a thing to turn up in Iraq and see even the stars aren’t the same.”

Bond was silent for a moment. Reminiscing wasn’t something he did often; the past was full of too many jagged edges. But here . . . the past felt a long way away. The bushes rose up in front of them, and the rocks behind them. It was what made this hill such a good location for a sniper post. The world felt a long way away.

“I grew up in Scotland, not in London,” Bond said quietly. He looked up at the stars, away from Felix. “Out in the country. Skyfall. When the sky was clear, the skies were as bright as diamonds. My mother used to tell me their names in French.”

“Your mother was French?” Leiter asked.

“Swiss,” Bond said softly, taking a swig of his soup. “Father worked for Vickers, he was an executive . . . lots of travelling. That’s how he met her. We weren’t home a lot. But when we were, it was . . . it was a good place.”

Leiter didn’t respond immediately. Bond supposed he was wondering how much to say. “I heard it burned down a few years back.”

“Yeah,” Bond said. “Along with M.”

“I know,” Leiter said. And to Bond’s surprise, he reached out to put an arm around Bond’s shoulders.

Bond sat there, stiff and frozen, and wondered when the last time someone had touched him like that, gently but not sexually. It was always easier to be gentle in bed than out of it.

“You don’t always have to be strong, you know,” Leiter said. “Even spies are allowed to be human.”

“I don’t need your pity,” Bond said, staring off into the bushes.

“It’s not pity, friend,” Leiter said, quietly. “It’s sympathy. ‘Cause I know what it’s like to lose someone.”

Bond was silent. But slowly, very slowly, he relaxed against Leiter, and Leiter pulled him close. The stars shone down on them, and Bond turned his head to look at his friend, Felix’s rounded, strong features traced silver in the starlight. He wondered what it would be like to kiss Felix. He had never kissed a man, except in the name of a mission. 

Leiter was looking back at him. “James - ” he said.

“Don’t spoil the mood, Felix,” Bond said, and he leaned in, and cupped Leiter’s bearded jaw, and pressed their lips together. There was nothing to gain here, no information, no access. No ulterior motives, for once. Just Felix’s soft lips under his, and Felix’s arm around him, and the starlight shining down on them.

When they broke the kiss, Bond and Leiter stared back at each other, neither quite certain what to say, where to start.

“Thanks,” Bond said, eventually.

“For what?” Leiter asked.

“For being here.” Bond looked up at the stars.

“I always thought you preferred to work alone,” Leiter said.

“I do,” Bond said. “But . . .” He shrugged. “Some things are better with friends.”

And then he leaned in to kiss Leiter again. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone! Please leave a comment if you liked it.


End file.
